JP6200701B2 - Liquid container and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid container and an image forming apparatus.

  As an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copying machine, a plotter, a composite machine of these, a printing machine, etc., for example, a liquid discharge recording method using a recording head composed of a liquid discharge head (droplet discharge head) for discharging droplets An image forming apparatus is known.

  In such an image forming apparatus, there is known an image forming apparatus in which a liquid cartridge as a liquid storage container for storing a liquid can be exchanged for the apparatus main body so that continuous printing can be performed for a long time.

  As a conventional liquid cartridge, for example, a plurality of flexible liquid storage bags for storing a liquid are arranged in a case, and a liquid supply port (outlet portion) of the liquid storage bag is fixed to the case. (See Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 4111089

  By the way, in a commercial printing machine such as a large continuous book machine as an image forming apparatus, it is required to achieve both high productivity and low cost. Therefore, the liquid cartridge needs to have a large capacity in order to enable continuous printing for a long time.

  Further, in order to reduce the downtime of the apparatus, it is necessary to make it possible to easily replace the cartridge. Therefore, contrivances such as intentionally providing a clearance between the liquid cartridge and the cartridge housing portion on the apparatus main body side are made. At this time, in the case of a large-capacity liquid cartridge, variations in component accuracy and assembly accuracy increase, and therefore, it is necessary to increase the clearance.

  On the other hand, in a replaceable liquid cartridge, at the time of replacement work, a liquid supply port portion (liquid outlet port portion) of the liquid cartridge and a liquid connection port (liquid inlet port, liquid supply path) provided on the apparatus main body side are It is necessary to securely connect to form a liquid supply path.

  In view of this, for example, a tray portion that moves horizontally with the liquid cartridge placed thereon and a guide portion that positions the horizontal position of the liquid cartridge during loading are provided in the cartridge loading portion of the apparatus main body. On the other hand, the liquid cartridge is provided with a guide receiving member that fits in the guide member on the apparatus main body side at the liquid supply port.

  Then, the liquid cartridge is placed on the tray portion, and the guide member is fitted to the guide receiving member on the liquid cartridge side and loaded while guiding, thereby improving the relative positional accuracy between the apparatus main body and the liquid cartridge. Conceivable.

  However, in the case of adopting the method of guiding by the guide member as described above, if the positional deviation between the guide member and the guide receiving member of the liquid cartridge occurs, the entire liquid cartridge moves so as to eliminate the positional deviation. become.

  As a result, there arises a problem that the liquid cartridge cannot be correctly loaded due to floating from the placing surface of the tray section.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to absorb misalignment when guiding the loading of the liquid container into the apparatus main body by the guide member.

In order to solve the above problems, the liquid container according to the present invention is:
A liquid storage container that stores liquid to be supplied to the apparatus main body and is exchangeably mounted on the apparatus main body,
A liquid storage bag for storing the liquid;
A housing containing the liquid containing bag;
Anda liquid supply port portion connected to the liquid supply path of the apparatus body,
The liquid supply port portion is provided on the upper surface of the housing, and the liquid supply port portion communicates with the liquid storage bag.
The liquid supply port is provided with a guide receiving member that fits into a guide member of the apparatus main body,
The attachment portion for attaching the liquid supply port of the housing can be bent,
The liquid supply port portion can be displaced in the height direction by bending the mounting portion of the housing.
When loading in the apparatus main body, when the guide receiving member is displaced in the height direction with respect to the guide member of the apparatus main body, the liquid supply port portion is displaced in the height direction.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to correctly install the liquid container by absorbing the displacement when the loading of the liquid container into the apparatus main body is guided by the guide member.

It is an external appearance perspective explanatory view of an example of a liquid cartridge as a liquid storage container concerning the present invention. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a liquid supply port portion of the liquid cartridge. It is perspective explanatory drawing of the initial state of the cap member with which it uses for detailed description of a cap member. It is a perspective explanatory view of a separated state similarly. It is a schematic explanatory drawing of an example of the cartridge accommodating part by the side of a printing machine main body. It is explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of the accommodation operation | movement of the liquid cartridge with respect to a cartridge accommodation part similarly. FIG. 5 is a perspective explanatory view for explaining an attachment portion of a guide member of a cartridge housing portion and a liquid supply port portion of a liquid cartridge. It is a principal part side surface explanatory drawing similarly. FIG. 10 is an explanatory side view for explaining the accommodating operation (loading operation) when the guide member of the cartridge accommodating portion and the guide receiving portion of the liquid cartridge are not displaced in the height direction. It is side surface explanatory drawing used for description of accommodation operation | movement when the guide receiving part of a liquid cartridge has shifted | deviated to the high direction with respect to the guide member of a cartridge accommodating part. FIG. 10 is an explanatory side view for explaining the accommodating operation when the guide receiving portion of the liquid cartridge is displaced in the lower direction with respect to the guide member of the cartridge accommodating portion.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. An example of a liquid cartridge as a liquid container according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view illustrating the liquid cartridge, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a liquid supply port portion of the liquid cartridge.

  The liquid cartridge 1 includes a liquid storage unit 10 that stores ink, which is a liquid to be supplied to a printing press main body, which is the main body of the image forming apparatus, and can be replaced with a cartridge storage unit 110 described later of the printing press main body. It is attached to.

  The liquid storage unit 10 can be configured to be formed of a material that can bend and can store a liquid therein. Or the liquid storage part 10 can be set as the structure which has arrange | positioned the liquid storage bag (liquid storage member) which stores a liquid in the inside of the housing | casing which can bend. Here, the latter configuration is adopted, and the housing is made of, for example, a cardboard material.

  The liquid container 10 is provided with a liquid supply port 30 having a liquid supply port (outlet port) 20 for supplying a liquid to the outside, and includes a cap member 40 that covers the liquid supply port 30.

  The liquid supply port portion 30 includes a mouth member 31 fixed to the liquid storage portion 10, and an inner lid member 32 that is disposed in the opening portion 31 a of the mouth member 31 and also serves as a rotation regulating member provided with the liquid supply port 20. Have. A fixing member 33 for fixing the inner lid member 32 is provided in the opening 31 a of the mouth member 31 of the liquid storage unit 10, and the cap member 40 is attached to the fixing member 33.

  The liquid supply port 20 provided in the inner lid member 32 communicates with a liquid storage bag stored in the liquid storage unit 10 via a tube or the like.

  Here, the liquid supply port portion 30 is configured by combining different members of the mouth member 31, the inner lid member 32, and the fixing member 33, but is not limited thereto. The mouth member 31, the inner lid member 32, and the fixing member 33 can be integrally molded to form a single component, or can be integrally molded with the liquid storage unit 10.

  Next, details of the cap member 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. 3 is a perspective explanatory view of the cap member in an initial state, and FIG. 4 is a perspective explanatory view of the separated state.

  The cap member 40 includes a sealing unit 41 that seals the liquid supply port 20 of the liquid supply port unit 30 and a holding unit 42 that holds an IC chip 43 that is an information storage unit that stores information about the stored liquid.

  Here, the sealing portion 41 and the holding portion 42 are detachably connected by a plurality of breakable bridge portions 44 formed between the outer peripheral surface of the sealing portion 41 and the inner peripheral surface of the holding portion 42. That is, by rotating the sealing portion 41 with respect to the holding portion 42, the bridge portion 44 is broken and the sealing portion 41 can be separated from the holding portion 42.

  The sealing portion 41 includes a cylindrical plug portion 51 that is inserted into the liquid supply port 20 and closes the liquid supply port 20, and a lever portion 52 that extends in a direction orthogonal to the liquid supply direction for rotating the plug portion 51. .

  In the holding portion 42, guide receiving portions 61a and 61b (referred to as “guide receiving portion 61” when not distinguished) are formed at positions facing each other in the radial direction of the outer peripheral surface. The guide receiving portions 61a and 61b are formed along the loading direction when the liquid cartridge 1 is loaded into the cartridge housing portion 100 of the apparatus main body (printing machine main body) to be described later, and are fitted to a guide member 102 to be described later on the apparatus main body side. Combined.

  The guide receiving portion 61 is provided with ribs 62a and 62b capable of guiding the guide member at the upper and lower end portions in the height direction.

  Here, when the liquid cartridge 1 is transported, the cap member 40 is attached to the liquid supply port portion 30, so that the plug portion 51 of the sealing portion 41 is inserted into the liquid supply port 20 and the liquid supply port 20 is moved. Closed. At this time, the sealing portion 41 is fixed to the liquid supply port portion 30, so that the holding portion 42 is fixed to the liquid supply port portion 30 via the sealing portion 41.

  When the liquid cartridge 1 is loaded and used in the printing press main body, the lever portion 52 is rotated and the sealing portion 41 is rotated. Thereby, the bridge part 44 between the sealing part 41 and the holding part 42 is broken, the sealing part 41 is separated and removed from the holding part 42, the plug part 51 closing the liquid supply port 20 is removed, and the liquid is removed. The supply port 20 can be opened.

  Next, an example of the cartridge housing portion on the printer main body side will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory view of the cartridge accommodating portion, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory view for explaining the operation of accommodating the liquid cartridge in the cartridge accommodating portion.

  The cartridge housing unit 100 includes a tray unit 110 on which the liquid cartridge 1 is placed. The tray unit 110 is horizontally moved by the slide mechanism unit 111 between the inside of the cartridge storage unit 100 (inside the apparatus main body) and the outside of the cartridge storage unit 100 (outside of the apparatus main body).

  In addition, the guide member 102 is fitted into the guide receiving portions 61 a and 62 a of the holding portion 42 of the liquid cartridge 1.

  In addition, the IC chip reading unit 103 that contacts and contacts the IC chip 43 of the holding unit 42 and reads information stored in the IC chip 43 is provided.

  In addition, a liquid is supplied to a connection portion (connecting portion) 101 that forms a liquid supply path that fits into the liquid supply port (outlet port) 20 of the liquid supply port portion 30 of the liquid cartridge 1, and a printing portion that is not illustrated through the connection portion 101. And a liquid supply path 104 for giving.

  When the liquid cartridge 1 is accommodated (loaded) in the cartridge accommodating portion 100, the tray portion 110 is pulled out from the cartridge accommodating portion 100 and the liquid cartridge 1 is placed on the tray portion 110 as shown in FIG. Put. Then, as shown in FIG. 6B, the tray unit 110 is pushed into the cartridge housing unit 100 and loaded (set).

  Next, a mounting portion between the guide member of the cartridge housing portion and the liquid supply port portion of the liquid cartridge will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a perspective explanatory view for explaining a mounting portion of the guide member of the cartridge housing portion and the liquid supply port portion of the liquid cartridge, and FIG.

  The guide member 102 of the cartridge housing portion 100 can contact the guide receiving portions 61a and 61b of the liquid cartridge 1, can be fitted between the ribs 62a and 62b, and guides the guide receiving portions 61a and 61a. A fork-shaped guide portion 201 is provided.

  On the opposite sides of the two guide portions 201, a tapered portion 202 is formed that tapers from the upper surface (guide horizontal portion) 201a and the lower surface (guide horizontal portion) 201b toward the tip side. The tapered portion 202 has a tapered surface 202a on the upper surface and a tapered surface 202b on the lower surface.

  Here, the thickness h of the guide part 201 is formed so as to fit into the gap g between the ribs 62 a and 61 b of the guide receiving part 61 of the holding part 42 of the liquid cartridge 1.

  On the other hand, the liquid storage part 10 of the liquid cartridge 1 is provided with a supply port attachment part 10a protruding in a mountain shape from the top surface (upper surface) of the liquid storage part 10, and the liquid supply port part 30 is provided in the supply port attachment part 10a. Is installed.

  And since the liquid accommodating part 10 is formed with the material (member of material) which can bend as mentioned above, the liquid supply port part 30 attached to the supply port attachment part 10a is the arrow a, It can be displaced in the height direction as shown by b (can be displaced).

  In the present embodiment, the liquid container 10 itself or the housing itself is formed of a material that can be bent. However, if the liquid supply port 30 can be displaced in the height direction, the liquid can be liquid. It can also be formed of a member capable of bending only the portion to which the supply port 30 is attached.

  Next, the accommodating operation (loading operation) when the guide member of the cartridge accommodating portion and the guide receiving portion of the liquid cartridge are not displaced in the height direction will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is an explanatory side view for explaining the same.

  As described above, when the liquid cartridge 1 is accommodated in the cartridge accommodating portion 100, the tray portion 110 is pulled out to place the liquid cartridge 1, and the liquid cartridge 1 is placed together with the tray portion 110 in the arrow Y direction shown in FIG. Move the slide.

  As a result, the liquid cartridge 1 moves relatively as shown in FIG. 9B from the state of FIG. 9A, and the guide portions 201, 201 of the guide member 102 move to the holding portion 42 of the liquid cartridge 1. It contacts the guide receiving portions 61a and 61b.

  At this time, if the guide portion 201 and the guide receiving portions 61a and 61b of the liquid cartridge 1 are not displaced in the height direction, the ribs 62a and 62b of the guide receiving portions 61a and 61b, and the guide horizontal portion 201a of the guide portion 201, The height of the holding part 42, that is, the height of the liquid supply port part 30 is positioned by 201b.

  As a result, the connecting portion 101 on the cartridge housing portion 100 side is correctly fitted into the liquid supply port 20 provided in the liquid supply port portion 30 of the liquid cartridge 1.

  Next, the accommodating operation when the guide receiving portion of the liquid cartridge is displaced in the higher direction with respect to the guide member of the cartridge accommodating portion will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory side view for explaining the same.

  In this case, when the liquid cartridge 1 moves relative to the state shown in FIG. 10 (a) as shown in FIG. 10 (b), the taper surface 202b of the guide portion 201 and the guide receiving portions 61a and 61b are below. The side rib 62b first comes into contact.

  When the liquid cartridge 1 is further slid in the arrow Y direction from this state, the holding portion 42 sinks downward (in the arrow b direction) along the tapered surface 202b.

  Accordingly, the guide horizontal portions 201a and 201b of the guide portion 201 are fitted between the ribs 62a and 62b of the guide receiving portions 61a and 61b. Therefore, the height of the holding portion 42, that is, the height of the liquid supply port portion 30 is positioned by the ribs 62 a and 62 b of the guide receiving portions 61 a and 61 b and the guide horizontal portions 201 a and 201 b of the guide portion 201.

  At this time, since the liquid supply port portion 30 can displace the mounting portion 10a of the liquid storage portion 10 as described above, the liquid supply port portion 30 as a whole moves downward (in the direction of arrow b) as the holding portion 42 sinks. It is displaced to.

  As a result, even when the guide receiving portion 61 of the liquid cartridge 1 is displaced in the higher direction with respect to the guide member 102, the positional displacement is absorbed and the liquid cartridge 1 itself moves by being pressed onto the tray portion 110. It is possible to position without doing.

  Next, the accommodating operation when the guide receiving portion of the liquid cartridge is displaced in the lower direction with respect to the guide member of the cartridge accommodating portion will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a side view for explaining the same.

  In this case, when the liquid cartridge 1 moves relatively from the state of FIG. 11A as shown in FIG. 11B, the taper surface 202a of the guide portion 201 and the upper sides of the guide receiving portions 61a and 61b. First, the rib 62a contacts.

  From this state, when the liquid cartridge 1 is further slid in the arrow Y direction, the holding portion 42 moves upward (in the arrow a direction) along the tapered surface 202a.

  Accordingly, the guide horizontal portions 201a and 201b of the guide portion 201 are fitted between the ribs 62a and 62b of the guide receiving portions 61a and 61b. Therefore, the height of the holding portion 42, that is, the height of the liquid supply port portion 30 is positioned by the ribs 62 a and 62 b of the guide receiving portions 61 a and 61 b and the guide horizontal portions 201 a and 201 b of the guide portion 201.

  At this time, since the liquid supply port portion 30 can displace the mounting portion 10a of the liquid storage portion 10 as described above, the liquid supply port portion 30 as a whole moves upward (arrow a) as the holding portion 42 moves upward. Direction).

  As a result, even when the guide receiving portion 61 of the liquid cartridge 1 is displaced in the lower direction with respect to the guide member 102, the positional displacement is absorbed, and the liquid cartridge 1 itself moves, for example, lifts from the tray portion 110. Without positioning.

  As described above, since the liquid supply port portion can be displaced in the height direction, the positional deviation in the height direction between the apparatus main body and the liquid cartridge can be absorbed and the liquid cartridge can be loaded. Thus, the misalignment when guiding the loading of the liquid container into the apparatus main body by the guide member can be absorbed and installed correctly.

  In the present application, “paper” is not limited to paper, but includes OHP, cloth, glass, a substrate, and the like, and can be attached to ink droplets and other liquids. This includes recording media, recording media, recording paper, recording paper, and the like. In addition, image formation, recording, printing, printing, and printing are all synonymous.

  The “image forming apparatus” means an apparatus that forms an image by discharging a liquid onto a medium such as paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics or the like. In addition, “image formation” not only applies an image having a meaning such as a character or a figure to a medium but also applies an image having no meaning such as a pattern to the medium (simply applying a droplet to the medium). It also means to land on.

  The “ink” is not limited to an ink unless otherwise specified, but includes any liquid that can form an image, such as a recording liquid, a fixing processing liquid, or a liquid. Used generically. For example, DNA samples, resists, pattern materials, resins and the like are also included.

  In addition, the “image” is not limited to a planar image, and includes an image given to a three-dimensionally formed image and an image formed by three-dimensionally modeling a solid itself.

1 Liquid cartridge (liquid container)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Liquid storage part 20 Liquid supply port 30 Liquid supply port part 40 Cap member 41 Sealing part 42 Holding part 43 Information storage means 61a, 61b Guide receiving part 100 Cartridge storage part 102 Guide member 110 Tray part 201 Guide part

Claims (3)

A liquid storage container that stores liquid to be supplied to the apparatus main body and is exchangeably mounted on the apparatus main body,
A liquid storage bag for storing the liquid;
A housing containing the liquid containing bag;
Anda liquid supply port portion connected to the liquid supply path of the apparatus body,
The liquid supply port portion is provided on the upper surface of the housing, and the liquid supply port portion communicates with the liquid storage bag.
The liquid supply port is provided with a guide receiving member that fits into a guide member of the apparatus main body,
The attachment portion for attaching the liquid supply port of the housing can be bent,
The liquid supply port portion can be displaced in the height direction by bending the mounting portion of the housing.
When the liquid is loaded into the apparatus main body, the liquid supply port is displaced in the height direction when the guide receiving member is displaced in the height direction with respect to the guide member of the apparatus main body. Containment container. Mounting portion for mounting the liquid supply port of the housing, the liquid container according to claim 1, characterized in that protrudes a mountain shape from the upper surface of the housing. An image forming apparatus in which a liquid container that contains a liquid to be supplied to the apparatus main body is attached to the apparatus main body in a replaceable manner.
The device body is
A tray portion on which the liquid container is placed and horizontally moves between the inside of the apparatus main body and the outside of the apparatus main body;
A guide portion for guiding the liquid container,
The liquid container is
A liquid supply port connected to the liquid supply path of the apparatus body;
The liquid supply port portion is provided with a guide receiving portion that fits with a guide member of the apparatus main body,
The liquid supply port is provided to be displaceable in the height direction,
When the liquid storage container is placed on the tray and loaded into the apparatus main body, the guide receiving part of the liquid storage container is fitted into the guide member of the apparatus main body,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the liquid supply port is displaced in the height direction when the guide receiving portion of the liquid container is displaced in the height direction with respect to the guide member of the apparatus main body.

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